StochCRM

To help estimate collision mortality of seabirds at offshore wind farms, the stochastic collision risk model (sCRM or stochCRM) was published in 2018 with funding from Marine Scotland. It builds from Band (2012) and Masden (2015) to estimate collision risk for resident seabirds in waters of the United Kingdom (UK). Like other Band-derived models, stochCRM requires data on seabird morphology, behavior, and density, as well as wind farm data like turbine number, dimensions, and blade speed. The underlying model code relies on generic biological and wind farm data and can therefore be applied to other marine regions if parameters are appropriate for species and wind farms of interest. In addition, previous code underpinning core calculations for the extended model has been replaced by an alternative approach, resulting in significant gains in computational speed over Masden’s code. This optimization is particularly beneficial in a stochastic context, when core calculations are performed repeatedly during simulations.

 

The sCRM incorporates a range of improvements over these previous models, including:

• A user-friendly interface for non-R users, available as an online Shiny app or downloadable Shiny app

• Incorporation of uncertainty in input parameters and thus into the predicted number of collisions

• Faster code

• A user-input parameter for number of turbines

• Estimates of collision probability at monthly, seasonal, or annual timescales

• Incorporation of local flight height data at either monthly or seasonal timescales

• Error checking on user inputs and resulting collision probability

 

StochCRM resources are available here.​​